Australia losing to England is not a sight fans would want to remember. England were favorites to win anyway, but the Aussies were not expected to lose with a 2-goal deficiency. The action for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 Semi-Final unfolded at Stadium Australia. Co-hosts have only lost 2 games in the last 9 events. Unfortunately for them, a loss in the final knockout round is a disappointing addition to that record.
England will now meet Spain in the Finals of the global tournament on August 20, 2023. Australia, meanwhile, will fight for the third spot on August 19, 2023, against Sweden.
The opener was netted by Ella Toone in the 36th minute. No other action happened after that in the football match. Half-time broke for players to meet and craft their respective strategies. Australia was lagging by a single goal to equalize the board. Desperation was rather more obvious on their faces, if not the pressure.
Sam Kerr stood up to the expectations for a balancing goal in the 63rd minute. It could have been a moment of relief if that momentum had a proper flow. Possession kept swinging sides, ultimately for the English side to bring up two more goals. Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo carried the game forward.
Lauren was the one to bring the winning edge. Bright’s assistance revolved around the fact that Carpenter made a mistake, giving them space to go for. Arnold nearly missed the chance to stop the ball. She can, in all fairness, never be put down for her efforts. It was Lauren who drilled down the shot as if the intention was to mislead the Aussie keeper. Credit to the combination of Lauren and Bright for they were able to deliver the winning edge.
Things did not get better for the co-hosts against the opponent who had entered the final of the FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time in history.
Russo scored the net in the 86th minute to make sure that Australia had no time left to even consider fighting for their survival. Call it brutal, but Hemp’s assistance after breaking through the midfield should not have been missed by Australia. Wiegman versus Gustavsson ends this season with that shot.
The final goal was followed by a couple of substitutions from both sides. It is understandable that English wanted to rest its players when they inched closer to the shore. As for Australia, it was about fighting until what was left on the clock.
Russo was replaced by Kelly after her final contribution. Australia looked at Alex instead of Katrina with hopes of shaking things up. The assumption was it would replicate the showcased performance of Argentina versus France in the Men’s World Cup. That did not happen, and some top FIFA betting sites continued to favor England throughout the remainder.
Australia fought hard and will now look to introspect if the 4-4-2 formation could have been modified. Or if it should ever be restructured for a more aggressive attack against the formation of 3-4-1-2.
